6 Arab Artists on Soundcloud You Should Follow

SoundCloud, YouTube, and Vimeo have seen a surge in modern Arab musicians showcasing their talent to the world. What required a record label, expensive studios, and pricey gear twenty years ago could be substituted by a solo artist playing an instrument in their bed room. Surprisingly, some of these musicians gain more fame through social media than those who sign with record labels. But what about the underdogs? Here’s a list of our top Arab artists on Soundcloud that you should know of.

1. Tamer Abu Ghazaleh

Tamer Abu Ghazaleh was born in Cairo in 1986 to an exiled Palestinian family. He started singing and performing at the age of two, but everything evolved the moment he turned nine. At that age, Tamer began composing music on the Oud, leading him onto a path clearly influenced by the likes of Mahmoud Darwish and Saadi Youssef.

One of the more inventive arab artists on Sound Cloud, Tamer’s interest in poetry and texts were influenced by his parents, who rigorously read Arabic poetry to him as a child. Tamer’s other major influence is his tutor, Khaled Jubran.

There, at the Edward Said Conservatory, Tamer was not only taught how to play the Oud, but also music theory and history, and was introduced to many music genres and styles that affected his musical method.

Tamer himself has confirmed to Humanity Can Wait that a debut album will be released this year at Alif Ensemble.

Check out the rest of his stuff here:

2. Mahmoud El Shawa

Mahmoud is a 20-year-old student currently studying Business Accounting at Fanshawe College in Canada. His day consists of studying, working and making music.

What makes Mahmoud unique from most of the producers is that he rarely resorts to samples, creating instead his own beats and rhythms. Another factor unique to Mahmoud’s songs is the sudden but fitting change in tempo when you least expect it in a beat.

His best work include Wonderland, Signs, Madaba, and the production of Gemini and Greta Svabo’s Fire Inside.

Check out the rest of his songs here:

3. Ahmad Farah

Ahmad Farah has been composing and playing the guitar since 2000, but started performing only in 2007. His passion towards music is evident through the effort he puts in producing his songs.

Ahmad’s main influence is the American folk-singer Bob Dylan, due to his admiration to Bob’s passion and poetic type of music. It is clear that Ahmad is nostalgic in his music. All of his songs are recorded in unconventional locations, from his rooftop, to stairs, and even to a tent.

Check out Ahmad’s work here

4. Oun Jweinat

Oun is a 15-year-old student currently doing his GCSEs at the National Orthodox School. Don’t let Oun’s age fool you. His reputation is growing exponentally in the local scene, having most recently performed in the Zain Independence Festival. Oun has also recently signed a contract with a house record label in Canada.

Having done this for four years so far, Oun is the perfect example for other aspiring teenage musicians, mainly because of his professionalism and commitment to such craft even at his age. His main influence is his brother, Sultan, whom was ranked the 6th best local DJ in Jordan. They are both planning on creating a DJ project together.

Check out the rest of Oun’s work here

5. Moseqar

Mohamed Ziena, commonly known as Moseqar, is an Egyptian music producer who started at the age of 17 by bringing his own ideas and thoughts to life. His influences include Michael Jackson, Kanye West, Rick Rubin, Pharrell Williams, Mark Ronson, and Dr Dre among others.

Mohamed released his first ever EP album, “Daydream”, 3 days ago which you can find here on this link:

6. DJ Pretentious

Mohamed Zohair is a 25-year-old music producer commonly known for his fantastic Arabic chill-out remix of Daft Punk’s Get Lucky.

Mohamed started playing music 6 years ago, when his sister started learning guitar and he used to take it behind her back just to fool around with it, eventually learning how to play it himself. Two years later, Mohamed expanded into electronic music under the name DJ Pretentious.

As for his influences, he listens to a lot of metalcore and progressive music, bordering more on the rougher edges of music. This is evident in his passion even for electronic music, with inspirations such as Deadmau5, Wolfgang Gartner, and The Glitch Mob.

Follow us on Instagram!

These talented people found the best rocky outcrops around Wadi Rum and performed the first highline in Jordan!

Highlining is a practice in balance that typically uses nylon or polyesterwebbing tensioned between two anchor points. Acrobats maintain their balance by positioning their centre of mass directly over their base of support, i.e. shifting most of their weight over their legs, arms or whatever part of their body they are using to hold them up.

When they are on the ground with their feet side by side, the base of support is wide in the lateral direction but narrow in the sagittal (back-to-front) direction. In the case of highwire-walkers, their feet are parallel with each other, one foot positioned in front of the other while on the wire. Therefore, a tightwire walker’s sway is side to side, their lateral support having been drastically reduced. In both cases, whether side by side or parallel, the ankle is the pivot point.

TOOT ARD (Strawberries) is a “mountain reggae” band from the majestic mountainside village of Majdal Shams in the Occupied Golan Heights/ Syria.

Their Lesseiz Passer documents say they are “Undefined” but they are sure they are 73% water and that MUSIC will lead them. Toot Ard has emerged as one of the most promising new bands in the Levant region. Singing in Arabic and weaving classical Arabic motifs into funky African inspired Reggae/ska grooves, they will make every audience laugh, dance, smile and imagine the many possibilities for a better future.